It is easy to become a little jaded – to think we have seen everything, to think nothing can surprise us. Well, apparently we were wrong because we just saw a first. A politician in upstate New York, Christopher Schaeffer, was sworn in as a Pomfret Town Councilman with a colander on his head. According to the Observer:

A unique style of headwear was present during newly-seated Pomfret Town Council member Christopher Schaeffer’s oath of office Thursday afternoon, but it wasn’t intended to keep his head warm.

When asked why he wore a colander on his head, Schaeffer said he was a minister with an even more unique organization – the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Schaeffer directed the OBSERVER to the church’s official website for additional information on the topic.

“Our ideal is to scrutinize ideas and actions, but ignore general labels,” the website states. “Some claim that the church is purely a thought experiment, satire, illustrating that Intelligent Design is not science, but rather a pseudoscience manufactured by Christians to push Creationism (the doctrine that God created the universe) into public schools. These people are mistaken. The Church of FSM is real, totally legit, and backed by hard science. Anything that comes across as humor or satire is purely coincidental.”

In his explanation for wearing the colander during the swearing in ceremony Schaeffer stated, “It’s just a statement about religious freedom,” he said. “It’s a religion without any dogma.”

Um, yay, for trying to make a point?

However, at the end of the ceremony Schaeffer wanted to make sure that the people of Pomfret knew that his public servant duties are still all about them.

“Mostly, I’m just looking forward to making sure that the town is run smoothly and we meet the needs of all of our citizens,” he said. “If anybody ever has any concerns or questions, I hope they contact me, because I want to make sure that everyone is represented.”

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